And So We Meet Again
by AutumnCadenza
Summary: There was something about him that set him apart from just any another criminal. There was something about him that made her dream of flying, on wings of freedom. Reincarnation AU


**A/N: I do not own SnK nor Angel Beats, which I have partially based this story on. Well the having to move on without regrets part at least.  
**

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**Chapter 1: Why Like This?**

_Heichou, I'm sorry._ She leaned against the tall and sturdy tree, stained with blood- her blood. _I couldn't do anything in the end, could I?_ She sighed and looked with bleary eyes at the horrid sight before her. The figures of her dead comrades laid behind her. And God knows what happened to Gunther. For all she knew he could have been eaten by some Aberrants by now.

_Am I really going to die like this?_ She tried to move her arm, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Everything hurts. But at the same time, she felt empty. She was well aware that being in the Survey Corps basically meant eventual death. _But we all die anyway,_ she thought. _I thought I could at least die for a cause._ The dreaded question struck her. _Did I die for a good use? A good cause? Or did I just die uselessly, as a senseless sacrifice? _

She thought of all the things she couldn't do in her life now. _I didn't get to marry, I didn't get to retire and raise a family, I didn't get to even see my father or-_

She heard screams in the distance. More deaths. Smoke rounds flared in the sky. The sound of squad leaders desperately trying to calm down their soldier. She cursed the Female Titan for making this happen. She cursed herself for being tricked into thinking the spy was Levi and just standing there like an idiot for Female Titan to hit her. She wondered if her captain was all right. _Of course he is, he's Levi-heichou. _Bitterness swept her limp body. Petra felt the wet trickle of tears slowly move down her bloodstained face.

_Heichou, I can't even see you for my last moments in life. Instead I get this stupid tree._ She tried to close her eyes, but her body forbid her from that as well. More tears, they moved faster than before, falling and clinging to the bottom of her chin. Levi had always berated her for being a crybaby. And here she was, a sobbing pathetic wreck with an even more pathetic death. _I'm sorry Heichou… I broke your promise.  
_

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_1 Day Before the 57th__ Survey__ Corps Mission, Dining Room_

_She set down the cup of coffee next to the captain. "H-Hey, Heichou," Petra stuttered. She didn't know what was going on in her squad leader's mind, but she could guess, no guarantee, that it had something to do with Eren.  
_

_"What?" he replied, his face showed no emotion as always, but Petra could have sworn his expression was even more grim than usual. __She didn't blame him. No one expected Eren to suddenly grow a Titan arm to pick up a spoon. But why did he change now when he couldn't turn into a Titan before that?  
_

_"Um..." She paused. She didn't exactly know what to say. Maybe she should give him some time to himself?_

_"If you want to say something, say it," Levi said. Blunt as ever._

_"Eh, well... So what do you think about what happened with Eren today?" _

_He gave no reply, just stared. Finally he responded. "What do you think about it?"_

_"Well, I think we should still trust him, Heichou."_

_"And why is that?"_

_"He's a good kid, Titan or not. He seemed genuinely upset when he learned he attacked Mikasa."_

_"But he attacked her, nonetheless." She started to speak again before he cut her off. "Petra, how much do you value your life?"_

_She was taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but her answer was immediate. "I am willing to die for humanity's sake."_

_He clicked his tongue. "Where do you think we go when we die?"_

_"I've never actually thought about it, Heichou." A lie. She thought about it every day. She spent hours in her bed thinking about the ways she could possibly die and what would happen to her. She thought about it before and during, even after every mission, what would happen if she were one of those soldiers swallowed by Titans.  
_

_Levi seemed to notice her lie, but continued on anyway. "Well now you are. So what do you think? Hell? Spirits?"_

_She thought some more. "I find the idea of reincarnation interesting."_

_He sat up straighter now. "Why reincarnation?"_

_"I don't like the idea of a place for good people and a place for bad people," she replied. "And I never really believed in spirits." No response. "U-Um, but Heichou," she started. "If reincarnation is true, it might not be, but if it is..." Should she say it? She saw now that her captain was looking at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "If we do live another life, I really hope I would be able to meet you again."_

_He took a sip of his coffee, set the cup down, and stayed silent. Did she say something wrong? She knew she shouldn't have said that! To her surprise, he actually responded. "Me, too, Petra." More silence. "Petra."_

"Yes, Heichou?"

_"Don't die an unnecessary death. I'm not promising that you'll stay alive if you fight with me, but don't throw away your life for senseless matters."_

_"Yes, Heichou."_

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Petra woke up, to the sound of gunfire, something she was well acquainted with. "Ow… why are my legs so hard to move?" she mumbled. She opened her eyes to find that she was lying on a stone pavement. There were no people, no buildings, no trees. Just a large stone pavement._ What happened?_

_Where am I?_ Petra looked around to see what was happening. There was nothing around her that could have caused the gunfire, so where would it have come from?

"Petra Ral," a voice reported. "Year 850, Reality 4, Died of spinal injury." She was dead? But how? She tried to ask what was going on, but it all came a garbled influx of words.

"What's happening? Am I dead? Where am I? How am I still here? Where are you? Why can't I see you-"

The voice cut her off, ignoring her questions and continuing to speak. "Still has regrets about her life. She's going to the reform section. Send her off. Reality 6 is preferable. Yeah, have the same people as the ones in her former life."

Still confused as she was in the beginning, Petra wailed, "Wait! What are you talking about?" Before she could ask any more, her vision started getting hazy, her voice no longer able to make a sound. And in a few seconds, the world became black with not a thing in sight.

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**A/N: I am in the need of a betareader who is willing to correct anything that is not canonically correct in the story as well as people to give me feedback. There honestly needs to be more Rivetra stories here.**

**Anyway if it's not too much to ask, I would like it if I receive some feedback for my story, as I am constantly looking for new ways to improve my writing.**


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